In the first article we looked at the individuals who are felt to be shaping the world of media. In this year’s mediashapers poll, we asked a second question about companies and brands.
The question was: “Stepping back from your own operation, which companies would you pick out as really setting the pace in the media business currently, either in your own sector or outside it?”
This has provided another and very rich dimension about the forces currently shaping Media World.
Here is my summary of the results, along with comments from survey respondents.
Out there with Big Tech
Predictably, many respondents went straight to the big tech companies, as the organisations that are really shaping the environment in which we all live and work, with the normal list of suspects.
Yet here is an interesting view: “Even among the big tech companies, who is going to survive? By my reckoning, only three are truly big enough, strategic enough and ruthless enough to live on into the long-term future: Meta, Alphabet and Apple — although each one is very different and has its own priorities.”
In terms of the sheer number of mentions, it is TikTok and YouTube which are grabbing the attention of media-insiders currently.
- “I see the majority of younger generations getting their ‘news’ from TikTok, which doesn’t bode well for accuracy and accountability.”
- “Facebook, publishers, broadcasters, and everyone else are now dancing to TikTok’s tune. Don’t get me wrong, AI will have huge ramifications on the industry, but the move to video (not just for teens but for everyone under 60 or so!) has happened before our eyes in almost no time.”
Two key trends are at work here. The first is the rapid shift from reading to watching and listening in terms of consumer consumption of content. The second is from long-form to short-form. Both trends are destabilising the business models of legacy-disrupters such as Spotify and Netflix.
There are a number of more general comments...
- “As publishers, we need to collaborate more to face up to big tech. If we don’t, they’ll just pick us off one by one. Or just flatten us all in one go.”
- “After the initial panic last year, I think that the media business has settled down to a more balanced and calm assessment of where big tech and AI are headed. The threats are just as real and potentially existential as they were a year ago, but AI can also work for us. But it could still undermine our whole role and purpose.”
B2B still in the lead
As Wessenden’s business benchmarking survey, mediafutures, has been tracking for several years, it is B2B which has been setting the pace in Media World.
The list of hot B2B companies is very skewed to live events (Racoon, HIVE, Clarion, etc), an activity that is still coming back on-stream, albeit with a growing range of monetisation models. Three companies have multiple mentions:
- Informa: “Very active and acquisitive — and selling off non-core activities in its reshaping. It’s making some smart moves after some very troubled times.”
- William Reed: “They’ve been taking a long-term view of their business and its distinct verticals, and have been moving into data services.”
- Royal College of Nursing (RCN): “A brilliant example of revenue diversification and constant reinvention. Yet it’s also shows how media / publishing people can revitalise a professional membership organisation.”
Also mentioned in despatches are Faversham House and Agribriefing.
Consumer catching up
Looking at the consumer sector and a number of things become clear...
- General lifestyle is under more obvious threat than specialist sectors.
- The cross-over between consumer and B2B is becoming more apparent, especially in areas such as live events, ecommerce, emarketplaces, data products, etc.
- It is often individual brands that are catching media-insiders’ eyes rather than companies. There seem to be few consumer companies that are consistently applying their strategies across their whole brand portfolio.
In terms of companies, three stood out, but for different reasons...
- Future: “They were setting the pace a year ago, but have now gone off the boil. And they are about to rationalise their print-led brands. I’m not sure whether they’re going to get all this right. Are their golden years over?”
- Hearst: “They have a new management team and some interesting membership plans across all their brands. Yet what stands out is the Good Housekeeping Institute, both as a standalone operation and as a key value-add to the bigger Good Housekeeping membership offer.”
- Bauer: “They seem to be making a good job of reshaping and refocusing on their new vertical business units. They’ve put their ‘last man standing in print’ strategy behind them.”
Some big brands come in for specific comment...
- Vogue: “A crossover consumer / B2B brand built around a premium print product.”
- Wired and National Geographic: “They’ve both leveraged their highly engaged audiences to develop sophisticated digital offerings.”
- Time Out: “It has translated its in-depth knowledge of city life into a curated food experience via physical food halls around the world.”
Yet there are also mentions of much smaller operations....
- Warners: “Small, but they stand out as an active and strategically creative business.”
- GMC: “Looks like a well-run company with a good balance of revenues.”
Everyone is looking at News
Interestingly, many consumer and B2B media-insiders are looking to newsbrands to see the leading marketing developments, even though as brands, they may not be making great amounts of profit or have stable futures: “The national press seem to be doing well in growing subscriptions. They are doing lots of clever things that we should be copying and testing.”
There are three clear news sectors:
National daily newsbrands
Here, three names stand out:
- Telegraph: “Winning the battle to convert print readers to digital readers profitably.”
- The Independent: “It may have been the last desperate throw of the dice, but it seems to have leapt successfully and profitably into digital-only.”
- New York Times: “There is still a big question about how many newsbrands have the scale to replicate what they are doing, but there are lots of interesting insights into bundling and pricing that we could copy.”
Two brands receive multiple mentions, but are seen as more specialist, almost B2B products:
- Financial Times: “A great approach to corporate subs and leveraging the brand across an increasing range of activities.”
- Politico: “A laser-like focus on its own content territory, an increasingly bold approach to pricing, and a willingness to experiment and test — a model for every media company, whatever their sector.”
News weeklies
One respondent captured the essence of this buoyant, but competitive sector: “Isn’t weekly the natural frequency for any newsbrand wanting to add value and credibility to the dubious commodity that ‘news’ has become?”
There were specific mentions for...
- The Economist: “Successful revenue diversification and a range of content packages, through constant and brave experimentation.”
- The Spectator: “A really successful brand, which has diversified into awards, live events, membership clubs with a modest, but solid digital presence. It has done this on tight budgets, which is why it has been consistently profitable. Yet its £100m valuation is just crazy. Let’s hope that its new owner doesn’t kill it!”
- Private Eye: “Going against the trend with a resolutely print-first mindset. Content-driven. Defiant. And downright grumpy!”
Regionals & Locals
There is a great deal of activity in this area, from tiny start-ups right up to the major players. Yet it remains a sector with a very uncertain financial future, whatever its social value and importance.
- “Newsquest looks to be making a much better job of getting its act together than Reach, which is a patchwork mess of innovation and blatant cost-cutting at the same time.”
- “Hyperlocal seems to be the future, as Joshi Herriman (The Mill) seems to be demonstrating.”
- “There is still money to be made, but everyone is working out what the model is. Whatever, we need public funding and tax breaks to make it work.”
- “As a sector, we’re working together and beginning to organise, collaborate and lobby. There are many excellent businesses in this space. And also many different business models.”
- “What is driving this whole sector is a mix of a passionate belief in the value of local journalism and the brutal fact that there are many redundant writers who need to make a living. It’s a tough time.”
Some big themes
There are two recurring threads that run through many of the comments. Firstly, the really impressive operators have been working on their strategy for years — there are few genuine “Eureka” moments or sudden “big bang” implementations. Secondly, these companies have also been able to change direction and implement quickly, when events (both internal and external) can change suddenly.
Dig down deeper and there are three other big questions that run through this year’s mediashapers:
- How can media companies grab back control of the relationship with their end-users and consumers in the face of social platforms, user-generated content and conversational search?
- How can publishers follow consumers across multiple platforms? And in the rapid transition from long-form to short-form, and from reading to listening and watching?
- How much further can Media World fragment?: “Digital has fragmented the whole marketplace. That means that there are no obvious leading companies or individual media-shapers any more. We’ve also run out of silver bullets and simple solutions!”
And what about me?
I thought you’d never ask! Seriously, I was asked in the InPublishing podcast, what my own choices would be, both for the individual and the brand or company shaping our industry or showing us how it should be done.
For the individual, I chose Rupert Murdoch, partly because I still have an affection for a good, old-fashioned, Citizen Kane, media mogul. Yet there is also a very real possibility that the current News Corp collection of diverse properties could be unbundled, which would have a major domino effect on the global media scene.
Looking at the business side of things, I picked a brand: The Beano. Again, a mix of affection (I was brought up on the comic and was a member of the Dennis the Menace Fan Club) and business reasons. It has managed to hold on to its core subversive values in a kinder and more politically-correct world. At the same time, it has diversified into TV, awards and competitions, school support projects and the most brilliant brand-extension: Beano Brain, which sells its insights into the youth market as a consultancy to big brands. And how could a robot have done all this with such self-deprecating humour?
All bright, guiding lights in a scary and fragmenting media world.
Click here to listen to a podcast about the whole mediashapers 2024 poll.
